My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 146

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 146
* * *
“In a few days, Marquise Merci will be hosting a tea party at her villa.”
The Empress spoke in a hushed tone.
“As the Duchess, you’ve visited that villa several times before, so you know one must pass through Eliton Forest to reach it.”
Marquise Merci held a tea party at her villa every year—an exclusive gathering for noblewomen only.
“The Duchess must bring Kanna Adis to that party. And you will ride in the same carriage as her.”
The Empress pushed two pawns forward across the chessboard.
“Bandits will strike in the forest. I’ve instructed them to abduct the older, middle-aged lady first. Then your guards will swarm to protect you, won’t they?”
Several knights blocked the path ahead of a single pawn.
“When your guards are distracted protecting you and paying less attention to Kanna.”
The Empress pointed deliberately at the lone pawn left standing.
“That’s when another band of bandits will emerge from behind. I’ve ordered them to abduct the young lady.”
The Empress laughed broadly.
“By the time Kanna is taken, my carriage will arrive. The Adis guards will be occupied protecting you, while I’ll command my Knight Guards to pursue the abductors.”
But the Empress’s Knight Guards would merely pretend to search before returning empty-handed.
“What do you think? Rather simple, isn’t it?”
“….”
“For this to proceed without suspicion, the Duchess will need to make certain sacrifices.”
As Chloe hesitated, the Empress’s expression hardened.
Was she wavering now, of all times? The Empress quickly dangled the bait.
“As I said, once this is done, I will personally make Isabel the Crown Princess of Crescent.”
“…You promise this?”
“Yes. I swear it by my name and my family’s honor. We even drew up a document together, didn’t we?”
When Chloe naively nodded, the Empress inwardly mocked her.
How foolish. Does she truly believe that document means anything?
‘Even if I break my word later, you won’t dare reveal that document. Unless you wish to expose your own dirty deeds to the world.’
The Empress was well-versed in such slander and betrayal.
But Chloe was not. She was merely an ordinary noblewoman whose only experience with conflict was the subtle maneuvering of High Society.
That is why she had come to trust the sealed document implicitly.
‘What a fool.’
* * *
Days passed, and the Marquise’s tea party drew near—tomorrow would be the day.
‘I cannot leave Kanna Adis alone.’
With each passing day, Chloe’s resolve only hardened further.
Kanna Adis was destroying House of Adis. Had she not driven a wedge between the children, making them cold toward one another?
That was not all.
Not long ago, Alexandro Adis had escorted Kanna Adis to the party venue—a shock that struck Chloe deeply.
Had Alexandro Adis ever escorted her?
Not once. Not a single time!
‘This cannot be allowed.’
Everything must be for the peace of House of Adis. To protect Adis, I had to send Kanna far away.
‘But even if Kanna becomes Prince Crescent’s concubine, that doesn’t sever her ties to Adis.’
With that thought, the Empress’s scheme seemed woefully inadequate.
‘That’s right—it’s not enough. No matter what, Kanna would ultimately become part of the Imperial Family anyway.’
It would be wonderful for Kanna’s reputation to be tarnished and for her to be cast out from High Society.
It would be good for her to leave Adis and become someone’s concubine. The mere thought brought satisfaction.
But the fact that the man in question was Prince Crescent was troubling. Even as a concubine, he was still of the Imperial Family.
Moreover, Isabel was destined to become Prince Crescent’s principal wife.
‘No matter how common such arrangements are among the Imperial Family, there will surely be people who gossip about sisters marrying the same man.’
And somehow, it seemed Kanna would be loved far more than Isabel. There was something enchanting about her beauty and mysterious presence.
‘Isabel might become nothing but a figurehead Empress.’
I could not tolerate Kanna marrying into the Imperial Family, nor could I accept her remaining in Adis.
Then what on earth should I do?
While pondering this during a stroll through the Garden, I encountered Kalen.
“Oh, Kalen.”
Kalen glanced at me and simply walked past without stopping. His coldness startled me into a cry.
“Kalen, are you ignoring me right now?”
Kalen stopped abruptly. He turned and cast a contemptuous gaze upon me.
“Yes.”
What?
“Is something wrong? Why suddenly….”
“No matter how much I think about it, I cannot understand.”
“Understand what?”
“The education I received from Mother when I was young.”
“What?”
“Did you not brainwash us by speaking ill of our sister and telling us to keep our distance from her? Upon reflection, Mother’s actions at that time were wrong.”
Kalen was like a blade now. His cutting words made my lips tremble.
“Mother is not a good mother. She leans far more toward being a bad one.”
With that, he turned his back and walked past. Tears welled up in my eyes at my son’s harsh words.
I gritted my teeth and wept bitterly. And suddenly, I made a decision.
‘I must kill her.’
Kanna. Kanna. Kanna.
You are trying to steal what is precious to me, just like your mother, and ruin Adis.
‘I cannot let her die gracefully. I will let the Empress’s scheme proceed as planned, but before Kanna marries Prince Crescent, I must kill her.’
And conveniently, there is a Maid I can use.
A few days ago, there was a Maid who tried to steal my jewels. Under normal circumstances, I would have had her whipped immediately and turned over to trial.
‘Perhaps she could be useful in my scheme with the Empress.’
So I had left her alone. I gave orders to the Servant.
“Bring the Maid Eriel to my room.”
* * *
Chloe threatened Eriel.
“If I expose what you’ve done, you’ll rot in prison for years. After your release, no household will employ you.”
Eriel’s face drained of color as she fell to her knees.
“Please forgive me, madam!”
“I could have you whipped until you never walk again, then cast you out. So why should I forgive you?”
“I’ll do whatever you command. Please, I beg your forgiveness!”
As the maid wept and clasped her hands in desperate supplication, Chloe made her offer with magnanimous condescension.
“If you obey me well, I might consider forgiving you.”
“Yes?”
“And as a reward, I’ll give you the jewels you tried to steal.”
“Truly, madam?”
“Indeed.”
Chloe smiled with calculated secrecy.
“Your task is this….”
* * *
“So that’s what happened?”
I suppressed my laughter.
How perfectly she acted without a single deviation from my expectations.
Once I discovered that Chloe was orchestrating matters with the Empress, I put Eriel to use.
I deliberately had her commit theft and positioned her at Chloe’s side.
Just as I required a maid for my own clandestine operations, I reasoned that Chloe would need one for her unsavory schemes.
‘Though I never anticipated she’d act so swiftly.’
And attempting to kill me—that exceeded my expectations.
“Do everything Chloe commands. Don’t forget to leave evidence.”
“Understood.”
Eriel obeyed without question. Not from loyalty, of course.
Observing Kalen Adis’s recent demeanor, she judged that her future prospects were brighter with me than with Chloe.
And then.
“Here, your promised compensation.”
I presented her with a box brimming with gold coins.
“I, thank you! I shall serve with utmost devotion!”
“When I attend the tea party tomorrow, you remember what you must do?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Execute it flawlessly. If you succeed, I’ll reward you generously.”
“I shall keep it foremost in my mind!”
After dismissing Eriel, I fell into contemplation.
Through the intelligence Argon provided as his apology, I had learned of their scheme in advance.
It was a conspiracy as vile as it was despicable.
‘Tomorrow is already upon us.’
Marquise Merci’s tea party.
A terrible accident would occur on the way there.
Of course, I could simply refuse to attend, but I had decided to go obediently.
‘Though naturally, things won’t unfold according to their wishes.’
I had already set everything in motion. But they would never suspect a thing.
‘If only they had left me alone.’
Had they done so, I would have quietly disappeared, but instead they had foolishly handed me the perfect opportunity for revenge.
‘Now that they’ve provoked me this way, I won’t disappear quietly.’
Chloe, and the Empress.
After bestowing ruin upon them, I would vanish.
* * *
The day finally arrived.
‘Thank goodness Kanna Adis is coming with us.’
Chloe felt a secret sense of relief.
She had worried that Kanna Adis might refuse to attend or insist on taking a separate carriage, but she had obediently boarded the same one.
Just before the carriage departed.
“Wait!”
The door burst open and Isabel rushed in, then took a seat beside Kanna Adis.
“Isabel? What are you doing here…?”
Isabel was under confinement. So why had she boarded the carriage? And dressed in party attire no less?
“I persuaded Kalen.”
At that moment, Kanna Adis spoke gently.
“It’s pitiful, really. At an age when she should be the center of High Society, she’s confined to her room.”
Isabel’s face flushed at those words, and she murmured in a barely audible voice, “Th-th-thank you.”
Meanwhile, Chloe’s complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.
‘This can’t be happening!’
Isabel coming along was not part of the plan. Moreover, hadn’t the Empress specifically instructed them to abduct a ‘young woman’?
‘What if they confuse Isabel and Kanna Adis?’
No, that absolutely cannot happen!
“B-but wouldn’t it be better if you remained confined a bit longer? It seemed Kalen was still quite angry.”
“Good heavens. Mother, do you only care about what Kalen thinks? You don’t even consider my feelings?”
Isabel, who had been holding back considerable resentment, spoke coldly.
“You’ve always been this way, Mother. It’s always my brothers first, and I come last. You only care about your sons.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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